Improvement in Bending Strength of Silicon Nitride through Laser Peening

This study aimed to improve the bending strength and reliability of ceramics using laser peening (LP). In the experiment, LP without coating (LPwC) and with coating (LPC) were applied to silicon nitride (Si3N4) under various conditions. The surface roughness, residual stress, and bending strength were then measured for the non-LP, LPwC, and LPC specimens. The results show that the LPwC specimen had a greater surface roughness but introduced larger and deeper compressive residual stress when compared with the non-LP and LPC specimens. In addition, the bending strength of the LPwC specimen was higher and scatter in bending strength was less compared with the non-LP and LPC specimens. This may be attributed to the transition of the fracture initiation point from the surface to the interior of the LPwC specimen because of the compressive residual stress introduced near the surface. Thus, it was demonstrated that the application of LP is effective in improving the strength and reliability of ceramics.

Improving Fatigue Limit and Rendering Defects Harmless through Laser Peening in Additive-Manufactured Maraging Steel

Additive-manufactured metals have a low fatigue limit due to the defects formed during the manufacturing process. Surface defects, in particular, considerably degrade the fatigue limit. In order to expand the application range of additive-manufactured metals, it is necessary to improve the fatigue limit and render the surface defects harmless. This study aims to investigate the effect of laser peening (LP) on the fatigue strength of additive-manufactured maraging steel with crack-like surface defects. Semicircular surface slits with depths of 0.2 and 0.6 mm are introduced on the specimen surface, and plane bending-fatigue tests are performed. On LP application, compressive residual stress is introduced from the specimen surface to a depth of 0.7 mm and the fatigue limit increases by 114%. In a specimen with a 0.2 mm deep slit, LP results in a high-fatigue-limit equivalent to that of a smooth specimen. Therefore, a semicircular slit with a depth of 0.2 mm can be rendered harmless by LP in terms of the fatigue limit. The defect size of a 0.2 mm deep semicircular slit is greater than that of the largest defect induced by additive manufacturing (AM). Thus, the LP process can contribute to improving the reliability of additive-manufactured metals. Compressive residual stress is the dominant factor in improving fatigue strength and rendering surface defects harmless. Moreover, the trend of the defect size that can be rendered harmless, estimated based on fracture mechanics, is consistent with the experimental results.

Numerical evaluation of the residual stresses in shot peening of alloy steels

In the present numerical study, the residual stresses generated during the shot peening process were evaluated using the finite element method. The influence of shot velocity on the residual stress distribution due to the indentation of a rigid shot over the target plate of alloy steel was studied. The finite element package ABAQUS 6.20 is used for simulating the shot peening process considering the target plate to be deformable. A parametric study was performed by introducing strain hardening rate as H1 = 800 MPa, keeping the dimension of target plate same with variation in shot velocity 20, 50, 75, 100, 125, and 150 m/s to check the behavior of residual stress distribution. As the indentation takes place over the metallic target plate, elastic-plastic deformation was observed. The indentation of the shot with a different velocity range causes the difference in the depth and size of the dent and induces the compressive residual stress. For perfectly plastic and the strain hardened material, the residual stress contour was simulated. The simulated results for strain hardened material show the significant change in the compressive residual stress in the sub-surface region of the target plate. It is evident from the results that the shot velocity has a significant effect on the residual stress distribution. The maximum compressive residual stress is achieved when the shot is indented at a velocity of 125 m/s.

Contribution to Improvement of Fatigue Properties of Zr-4 Alloy: Gradient Nanostructured Surface Layer versus Compressive Residual Stress

The gradient nanostructured (GNS) layer forms beneath the surface of Zr-4 samples by the surface mechanical grinding treatment (SMGT) process, which increases the fatigue strength apparently due to the synergistic effect of the gradient nanostructured layer and compressive residual stress. The SMGTed Zr-4 samples are subjected to annealing to remove residual stress (A-SMGT) and the individual effect of the GNS layer and compressive residual stress can be clarified. The results show that the gradient nanostructure in the surface is stable after annealing at 400 °C for 2 h but residual stress is apparently removed. Both SMGTed and A-SMGTed Zr-4 samples exhibit higher fatigue strength than that of coarse-grained (CG) Zr-4 alloy. The fatigue fracture of Zr-4 alloy indicates that the hard GNS surface layer hinders fatigue cracks from approaching the surface and leads to a lower fatigue striation space than that of CG Zr-4 samples. The offset fatigue strength of 106 cycles is taken for SMRT-ed, A-SMRT-ed, and CG Zr-4 samples and the results indicate clearly that the GNS surface layer is a key factor for the improvement of fatigue strength of the Zr-4 alloy with surface mechanical grinding treatment.

The long-term stability of residual stresses in steel

There is frequent debate over the long-term stability of calibration specimens. It is an essential component of monitoring, especially for X-ray diffraction equipment used to determine residual stresses. If residual stresses are stable, a second consideration is that the residual stress should not be close to 0 MPa. If such specimens are available for monitoring, it is more sensitive concerning changes. These are key requirements when developing calibration specimens. In this study five specimens were observed, one of them was tested for more than 20 years. The stresses were determined with X-ray diffractometers. In the last four years two different X-ray methods for determination were used. It can be shown that high compressive residual stress does not change in steel if the specimens had no dynamic or static load and were stored under normal laboratory conditions. Article Highlights Finding a material in which compressive residual stress is stable Showing that the stability of compressive residual stress is over a long term The stability of the compressive residual stress is in a great range

Optimisation of FSP process parameters of surface composites using GRA and Taguchi approach

Friction stir processing (FSP) of Al7075-T6 and Boron Carbide(𝐵4𝐶) nanoparticles as reinforcement were performed adopting Taguchi’s 𝐿9 orthogonal array. Optimisation of parameters which are transverse speed (TS), tool rotational speed (TRS), and tool pin profile (TP) based on residual stress and microhardness was done using Taguchi and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA). Result showed that minimum compressive residual stress and maximum microhardness were obtained at TS of 40 mm/min, TRS of 1200 rpm, and square tool pin profile. Analysis of variance showed that TP+TS with 49.63% contribution is the most significant factor to influence residual stress and microhardness.

Fabrication of FSW Tool Pins Through Turning of H13 Tool Steel: A Comparative Analysis for Residual Stresses

In the present research, measurement of residual stress induced during turning and threading operations for the fabrication of two types of pin profiled friction stir processing/welding (FSP/FSW) tools, i.e. cylindrical profiled pin tool and cylindrical threaded profiled pin tool, is being dealt with. Workpiece was chosen to be H13 tool steel with a diameter of 22[Formula: see text]mm and 110[Formula: see text]mm length. Turning and threading was done on CNC machine tools using CNMG 12404-THM uncoated tungsten carbide cutting tool. For residual stress measurement of the workpieces, an XRD-based Pulsetec[Formula: see text]-X360n portable residual stress analyzer setup was used. The experimental results show that the cylindrical pin profile tool had a compressive residual stress of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MPa and compressive residual shear stress of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MPa, while the cylindrical threaded pin profile tool had a compressive residual stress of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MPa (51.8% more) and compressive residual shear stress of [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]MPa (40% less). It has been concluded that due to threading operation on the cylindrical threaded pin profile, the value of residual stress is more in it, and since the stress is compressive in nature, it would have a better positive impact while doing FSP/FSW than that of the cylindrical profiled pin tool.